By Ken Potter – NLG – CoinLink Content Partner

Some time ago a fellow sent in an error-variety coin with some very interesting questions. He said: “I have a 1999-W $5.00 Gold 1/10th Eagle that was struck by the Mint with an Uncirculated Matte Finish instead of the intended Proof finish for the West Point issue. Is this an error or variety — the grading service states it’s an error? Also, why is it referred to by the grading service as struck with “Unfinished Proof Die” when the die has clearly been “finished” albeit the wrong finish?

He made to very good points and I had to explain that it was both an error and a variety and that the grading service was technically wrong. My answer to him was as follows and aught to be of interest to others.

According to Alan Herbert in his book, The Official Price Guide To Mint Errors:
“Only a small fraction of the mint product is an “error.” The E word was born back in the dark ages when almost nobody knew anything about the minting process. Today we know enough about the complexities of minting coins to be able to pinpoint the exact cause, or causes, in 99 percent of the cases. We desperately need the proper language to fit with that increased knowledge. Teaching novice collectors nicknames and slang is akin to teaching a chimp how to use a baseball bat. It curls my hair to hear professional people, engineers, doctors, lawyers and other college graduates misusing the language like they do.

We know that many actions by mint personnel are expedients-things done to speed up production, salvage worn or damaged dies, use up substandard planchets, or just simply to save money. Obviously, an expedient is not an “error.” It was done deliberately. Other mint products are different because of wear and tear to the dies, coin press, or other equipment. Again this stretches the definition of “error” to have to include a normal result of heavy usage.

The more we know about the minting process, the harder it is to stretch the E word to fit the end result. The simple solution is to have a “real” term which will include any and all variations, and-just as important-will include “errors,” but in their proper perspective. That term is minting varieties.

A minting variety is, by definition, “A coin which is normal or which exhibits a variation of any kind from the normal, whether intentional, accidental, or due to wear and tear on the equipment, as a result of any portion of the minting process, whether at the blank or planchet stage, as a result of a change or modification of the die, or during the striking process.”
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A reproduction of the allegory that appeared on the original 1935 $500 bank note

[ CoinLink News ] At a time when so many new coin releases exhibit such uninspired design, we can across this incredible beauty being offered by the Canadian Mint in a Limited Mintage of 200 pieces.

Perhaps we have just “classical” taste for the rich allegorical figures of yesteryear which seems to impart an importance to the design, or it may be that the “clip art” mentality exhibited on most modern coins just leaves us cold. In any case, this 5 oz gold just struck a cord, and provides us with a reminder of what exceptional coinage could, and should look like.

The design is a reproduction of the allegory that appeared on the original 1935 $500 bank note; a seated woman holding a sickle surrounded by the fruits of harvest to symbolize fertility.

This is the fourth time that the Mint has produced a 5oz gold coin. Previous issues: 2007 – Queen’s 60th Wedding Anniversary, 2008 – 100th Anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mint and 2009 – 150th Ann. of beginning of Construction of Parliament Buildings.

Theme:
The Bank of Canada began operating 75 years ago in 1935 and was given responsibility to regulate the country’s money supply and to “promote the economic and financial welfare of Canada.” Accordingly, it was given the exclusive right to issue Canada’s bank notes. On March 11, 1935, the Bank of Canada issued its first series of bank notes.

The inaugural series of 1935 included denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 and $1,000. (A $25 note was issued later in 1935 to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V).

The front of the notes featured a portrait of a member of the royal family or of a former Canadian prime minister while allegorical figures representing Canada’s growing agricultural, industrial and commercial prosperity appeared on the back. Each denomination was available in English or French, a practice that ended with the introduction of bilingual notes in 1937.

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[CoinLink News] The  United States Mint announced that beginning today, June 3rd , the 2010 American Buffalo Gold Proof Coins will go on sale at noon Eastern Time (ET).

The obverse (heads side) and reverse (tails side) designs of the American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin are based on the original 1913 Type I Buffalo nickel by James Earle Fraser.  The obverse features the profile of a Native American with the inscriptions LIBERTY, 2010 and the W mint mark for the United States Mint at West Point.  The coin’s reverse features the revered American Buffalo-also known as the bison-with the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, IN GOD WE TRUST, $50, 1OZ and .9999 FINE GOLD.

Each American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin is presented in an elegant hardwood box with a matte finish and faux leather inset.  The coins are exhibited on a platform which can stand at an angle for display when the box is open.  A Certificate of Authenticity signed by the Director of the United States Mint is included.

Also today, June 3, The United States Mint will begin accepting orders for the Jane Pierce First Spouse Gold Coin at noon Eastern Time (ET).  The one-half ounce 24-karat gold coin, struck at the United States Mint at West Point, will be available in proof and uncirculated conditions.

The maximum mintage for the Jane Pierce First Spouse Gold Coin is set at 15,000 units across both product options.  Customer demand will determine the ratio of proof to uncirculated coins produced within the total maximum mintage.  There is no household order limit for this product.

Bronze medals bearing a likeness of the gold coin also will be available for $5.50 each.  There is no mintage or household order limit for the bronze medal, which is 1-5/16 inches in size.

The coin’s obverse (heads side) features a portrait of Jane Pierce designed by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Donna Weaver and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart.  Inscriptions on the obverse include JANE PIERCE, IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY, 2010, 14th and 1853-1857, the period during which she served in the White House.  The coin’s reverse (tails side) was also designed by Weaver and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Charles L. Vickers.  The design depicts Pierce sitting and listening to debates in the visitor’s gallery of the Old Senate Chamber in the U.S. Capitol Building.  Inscriptions on the reverse are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, $10, 1/2 OZ. and .9999 FINE GOLD. (more…)